The Difference Between Cat People and Dog People: Explained With Science

There are cat people and dog people. Toilet paper over and toilet paper under people. Vanilla ice cream and chocolate ice cream people. (Just make sure you don’t feed that ice cream to a cat — it’s cute but super bad for them.)

Until now, these differences were mostly quantified with various Tumblr memes:

All that changed earlier this week when, for International Cat Day, Facebook released a study on the differences between cat people and dog people. In a not-at-all-creepy-and-overreaching look at its user base, Facebook used facial recognition to determine whether people posted pictures of dogs or cats, then compared their interests and lifestyles.

It turns out that some stereotypes have a basis in fact. Dog people have, on average, 26 more friends than cat people — but cat people get invited to more events. Does this mean cat people have fewer, but closer friendships? You tell me.

One thing I can say, though, is that cat people — or at least, the kind of cat people who post pictures of their cats on Facebook — are more likely to be single. 30% of cat people are single, compared to 24% of dog people. Don’t get all sexist on me now, though: according to the study, “male cat-lovers of all ages are just as likely” to be single.

Cat people and dog people have pretty different tastes, too. Cat people love cartoons and anime; dog people like sports, soaps, and reality TV. Cat people are more likely to list their mood as “tired” or “annoyed”; dog people are more likely to be “excited” or “proud.” For more comparisons, check out the full study here.

What do you think? Are you a cat person, a dog person, or one of the precious mole people who lives in our sewers? Let us know in the comments below or @WhatsTrending on Twitter!